A weekend at the Sea

Watson's school was closed for a 3 day mid-term break in Feb. So, we took advantage of a QUB GAP co-worker's hospitality and went to the Sea for a long weekend. The story is a bit complex, but our co-worker (Finbar) house and dog sits for his neighbor every winter when she goes to Australia. He offered for us to stay at her place whenever we might like to get away from the city for a bit. They live in Killough (Kill-ock), which is a village SE of Belfast right on the Sea, just before you get to the Mourne Mtns. Map here: http://goo.gl/maps/yWKHU

The back of the house (pink one) and garden leading down to the paved path along the Sea.

The paved path along the Sea. Harvey, the whippet.

House we stayed in is at the very left edge of the pic.

Some random cute horses along the path.

Path runs between the Sea and the houses and church in the background.
Low tide, so lots of exposed rocks to explore.

We used a car hire and drove down Sat afternoon in the drizzle, arriving to an old, big, beautiful row house with an amazing conservatory that backs up to an amazing garden, that backs up to a paved trail, across from which is the Sea! Gorgeous! We pretty much just brought our bags in, grabbed the groceries we needed from down the street, and headed to the Sea. We wandered around, digging in the sand, exploring the old kiln, and throwing stones until we were too cold and needed to go back inside.

This is the old kiln.

Lots of great rock throwing!

He's getting so heavy and loves walking! But, still pretty good in the backpack. 

Practicing skipping rocks.

Still likes to eat sand...

Building a castle with rock moat.

Finbar brought the dog, a whippet named Harvey, over in the evening and we had a good old dog fix that night no Sun morning. When we awoke Sun it was a gorgeous day, so we spent time out along the Sea again, just exploring. Was sooo nice to see and feel the sun and hear the waves lapping. We had planned to meet Bob and Kath at a Park with nice hikes in the early afternoon, but Jamie was transitioning away from 2 to 1 nap and our schedule got messed up. So, after Jamie's nap, Bob and Kath so nicely came down to visit (about 30 min SW of their place) and we took another walk along the Sea. We had cheese and bread and wine at the house, then followed them in there car to a pub called Curran's where we ate dinner. Unfortunately, the weather didn't hold all day - it started raining during our walk with them in the afternoon and didn't quit. In fact, overnight, it turned into a gale and on Mon, rather then going to the Mourne Mtns and Newcastle like we had planned, we just hung out at the house watching movies and cleaning (the house was pretty dusty and dirty so we definitely left it better than we found it!) before we headed back to Belfast in the mid-afternoon.

It really is spring!

Funny thing, we saw some of the home-owners mail on her counter. Last name? Spence. We had a great time being by the Sea and getting a dog fix in Killough. Thanks to Finbar and the home-owner! If we return, perhaps we will clean 1st? :)